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Monday, March 14, 2016

3.1416: Happy Pi Day

March 14 (3/14) is celebrated annually as Pi Day because the date resembles the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter — 3.14159265359... or, rounded off, 3.1416. 2016, therefore, provides a particularly good reason to celebrate: 3/14/16.

Archimedes (wiki) (circa 287–212 B.C.) is credited with doing the first calculation of Pi. British mathematician William Jones came up with the Greek letter and symbol for the figure in 1706, the use of which was later popularized by mathematician Leonhard Euler (wiki), beginning in 1737.

Last year’s date (3.14.2015) was especially significant because it matched the first four digits after the decimal point. This year, some math lovers have already started calling 3.14.16 Rounded Pi Day rounding up those four digits.